BIBLE (367AD)
“Persuasively contrarian”
The Bible has a very prominent place in the culture of the West and in the Christian religion. It is the oldest- and best-selling book of all time. How did this book come about and what makes it so special?
During the Axial Age the oral culture with its holy temple cult transformed into a written culture with holy books. This transition was not without problems, as one senses in Jeremiah (8:8): “How dare you say, we have the law of the Lord?! The pen of the scribes has falsified the law.” The prophet considers a written text superficial (just like Plato by the way). Jeremiah is concerned with what God says. Yet seers and prophets fade into the background. Scrolls and scribes become the most important sources of God’s authority.
Actually, the Bible is a collection of books written by various authors across a period of hundreds of years. The books were selected because they were considered suitable for reading in church services. Like no one else, the bishop of Alexandria Athanasius has left his mark on this- and other ecclesiastical traditions. At young age he played a large role in the Nicaean Creed (325AD). Later he settled the rivalry between hermits, monks and bishops and gave the highest authority to the bishop. And in 367AD he was the first to issue the list of bible books as we know it today.
Athanasius not just wanted a list of authoritative books. He wanted an authoritative list (canon) of such books. And this he achieved by putting the book of Revelations – that was still being disputed at the time – at the end. This book ends with a serious caution not to change anything of its content. And Athanasius applied this warning not just to Revelations but to the whole Bible.
For him creed, canon and church were the foundation of orthodoxy. But inevitably the path of faith eventually became a bastion of faith. It seems an unavoidable tragedy that the Church while attempting to preserve its ‘priceless message’, actually enshrined it in office, canon and even dogma. So different from the authors of the Bible who cited earlier authors with great respect but also with great creativity and boldness at the same time. Even now the Church is struggling with this dilemma: how to remain faithful while the faith is not identical to dogma. The meaning of words is changing. The context changes. Knowledge is increasing. Deepening and broadening interpretations are as essential as the ancient words themselves.
The Bible is not true because it is the Word of God. It is the Word of God because it is true. Not literally true, infallible from cover to cover. But ultimately meaningful and valuable for life and reality. For centuries countless people have been comforted and encouraged by this book which is above all a document of hope. Precisely because the Bible offers a lot of room for diversity and because it describes so clearly how the relation between God and man is developing and being internalized, the ‘priceless message’ will continue to inspire.